1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to an apparatus for controlling the flow of process gases within a process chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
When processing substrates in a vacuum, a vacuum pump is used to evacuate the processing chamber to the appropriate processing pressure. In some cases, the vacuum pump will continually evacuate processing gases introduced into the processing chamber to maintain a desired processing pressure. The vacuum pump will pull the processing gases through the processing chamber to the vacuum pump port leading to the vacuum pump.
Processing gases, such as deposition gases, are introduced into the processing chamber and, during processing, may lead to deposition on exposed chamber components. Deposition on undesired chamber components may lead to component failure or substrate contamination during processing. When a component fails, the component will need to either be cleaned or replaced. In either case, the processing chamber will need to be shut down to access the component, which leads to a decrease in substrate throughput.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a processing chamber designed to reduce chamber component failure.